In the semiconductor industry, a photolithography method using visible light or ultraviolet light has been employed as a technique for writing, on a Si substrate or the like, a fine pattern, which is required for forming an integrated circuit comprising such a fine pattern. However, the conventional photolithography method has been close to the resolution limit, while microsizing of semiconductor devices has been accelerated. In the case of the photolithography method, it is said that the resolution limit of a pattern is about ½ of an exposure wavelength, and that even if an immersion method is employed, the resolution limit is about ¼ of an exposure wavelength. Even if an immersion method using an ArF laser (193 nm) is employed, it is estimated that the resolution limit is about 45 nm. From this point of view, EUV lithography, which is an exposure technique using EUV light having a shorter wavelength than ArF lasers, is considered to be promising as an exposure technique for 45 nm or below. In this specification, “EUV light” means a ray having a wavelength in a soft X-ray region or a vacuum ultraviolet ray region, specifically a ray having a wavelength of from about 10 to 20 nm, in particular, of about 13.5 nm±0.3 nm.
EUV light is apt to be absorbed by any substances and the refractive indices of substances are close to 1 at this wavelength, whereby it is impossible to use a dioptric system like a conventional photolithography employing visible light or ultraviolet light. For this reason, for EUV light lithography, a catoptric system, i.e. a combination of a reflective photomask and a mirror, is employed.
A mask blank is a stacked member for fabrication of a photomask, which has not been patterned yet. In the case of an EUV mask blank, it has a structure wherein a substrate made of glass or the like has a reflective layer to reflect EUV light and an absorber layer to absorb EUV light, formed thereon in this order. As the reflective layer, a multilayer reflective film is usually used wherein high refractive index layers and low refractive index layers are alternately stacked to increase a light reflectance when irradiating the layer surface with EUV light. For the absorber layer, it is common to employ a material having a high absorption coefficient for EUV light, specifically e.g. a material containing Cr or Ta as the main component.
Patent Document 1 discloses that a nitride of a tantalum/boron alloy (TaBN), an oxide of a tantalum/boron alloy (TaBO) and an oxynitride of a tantalum/boron alloy (TaBNO) have high absorption coefficients for EUV light, and further have a low reflectance against deep-ultraviolet light within a wavelength region (from 190 nm to 260 nm) of light for inspection of a pattern, and thus, they are preferred as materials for an absorber layer.
Further, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose that in order to make the absorber layer surface to be a surface excellent in flatness and smoothness, the crystalline state of the absorber layer is preferably amorphous, and in order to make the crystalline state of a TaBN film, a TaBO film and a TaBNO film to be amorphous, the content of B in such films is preferably from 5 to 25 at. %.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2004-6798    Patent Document 2: JP-A-2004-6799